Judge rules DuPont lied

Company accused of fraud against court

3:10 PM,
Dec. 1, 2012

Bags of Asgrow Roundup Ready soybean seeds sit inside a Monsanto Co. lab in St. Louis. DuPont Co., the most valuable U.S. chemical maker, lied to a federal court and investors about its right to use Monsanto Co. seed technology as a central part of its defense in a patent lawsuit, a judge ruled.

Written by

Jack Kaskey and Susan Decker
Bloomberg News

DuPont Co., the most valuable U.S. chemical maker, lied to a federal court and investors about its right to use Monsanto Co. seed technology as a central part of its defense in a patent lawsuit, a judge ruled.

DuPont "knowingly perpetrated a fraud against the court," according to a Nov. 16 order by U.S. District Judge Richard Webber unsealing sanctions he levied last December that limited the company's defenses in the lawsuit brought by Monsanto. The two companies are the largest in the $34 billion commercial seed market.

Emails from DuPont executives and lawyers show they knew the company ...